Nawanshahr district was carved out of Hoshiarpur and Jalandhar districts of Punjab in November 7, 1995 on the auspicious occasion of birthday of Sh. Guru Nanak Dev Ji as the sixteenth district of Punjab State.

Hon'ble Chief Minister, Punjab S. Parkash Singh Badal on 27/09/2008, while addressing a state level rally at Khatkar Kalan, the native village of Shahid-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh on the occasion of national level function to conclude the Birth Centenary celebrations of the great martyr made the announcement of changing the name of district from Nawanshahr to "Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar". Notification
(No. 19/7/07-LR-IV/7929) to this effect was issued on 29/09/2008.

The district headquarter town Nawanshahr is said to have been built during the reign of Alaudin Khilji (1295-1316) by his Afgan Military Chief Nausher Khan. Previously it was called "Nausar" but with the passage of time, the town came to be known "The Nawanshahr". Nausher Khan had constructed five forts known as Havelis, whose remains still exist.

People of this district are economically sound. Large numbers of families from the district have settled in countries like Canada, UK, and USA etc. Consequently huge remittance is being received by their kith and kin back in India which contribute to the economic development and prosperity of the district.

All the towns and the villages are well connected by roads. Nawanshahr has also rail track connecting it with Jalandhar, Rahon and Jaijon. District enjoys the rare honour of being the native village of Shahid Bhagat Singh whose ancestral village Khatkar Kalan falls in it.

KHATKAR KALAN is a historical village which
has got the honour of being the village of the famous patriots and
freedom fighters like Sardar Kishan Singh, Sardar Ajit Singh, Sardar
Swaran Singh, Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh. In this article the
memories of Sardar Ajit Singh, when he came home after imprisonment of
40 years, are reproduced here as he expressed them in his writing.

"My Village Khatkar Kalan comes under station
Banga. This village is well known because of its special
features."

"This place was known as a fortress. It was
related with a feudal chief. There were other fortresses attached to
it but they were small as compared to it. That's why they were known
as Garh Khurd. My birth place was known as Garh Kalan."

"One of my forefathers started from his
village "Narli" in Lahore District during Mughal period to
go to "Haridwar". His purpose to go there because he was to
throw the ashes of someone from his family member in river "Ganga".
The journey was long. In his way he took shelter in a fortress. The
owner of the fortress was a kind hearted person. He welcomed that
stranger. He was a young person. He also invited him to have meals
with him and his family. The owner had a wife and a beautiful
daughter. When they were eating food the young man and the daughter of
the owner of the fortress got attracted towards each other. The girl
expressed her desire to marry the man. Her parent had also selected
the person as their would be Son-In-Law. Next morning when the young
man was about to go the owner asked him if he was married. The young
man said to him "Not yet.". At this the owner of the
fortress invited him to be his guest for the second time. He bade Good
Bye to them and started his journey again.

After throwing the ashes in Ganga the young man came back
to that fortress so that he could marry the girl. The fortress was already
decorated by the owner of it and they were waiting for the young man to
come. They wanted to give the fortress as a marriage gift to their
Son-In-Law. The young man and the daughter of the owner of the fortress got
married and the fortress was given to them. After their marriage this place
was called Khatkar Kalan. The owner and his wife started living in that
fortress as the guest of their Son-In-law.

Thus from their couple started one family. Time changed
and the walls for the fortress fell down. During rainy season the deep dug
places around the fortress changed into pools. Today people have great
benefits of these pools and they use these pools for bathing and other
places."

Family Background

The elders of the family used to sit in "DARBAR"
a place to do the justice to the people of the village. Even today this
place is called "Deewan Khana". Even before the rule of Maharaja
Ranjit Singh one family used to live like that and were known as "Jagirdaars"
and they also used to send a fixed number of soldiers to the emperor.

"Our forefather used to unfurl the National Flag of
Sikhs, four time in a year. The place where this flag was unfurled was known
as "Jhanda Ji". It was due to the love of this place that our
forefathers refused to go back to their native village, when some people who
had come from there asked to go with them."

"After the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh british
officials started suppressing the people. As a result people took arms in
their hands to protect them. Our family members also joined hands with them.
Due to this our "Jagir" was redused by the british Govt. When
Govt. asked for help from my grand father, against the rebellious people, he
refused to do so."

"I was a small child then. When one day I went with
my grandfather towards our fields, When we were coming back I asked my
grandfather about the 1857 insurrection. I had heard a lot about it. I asked
my grandfather about the cause of failure of this insurrection. He answered
that british were successful only because they got assistance from the
"Jagirdars" of Punjab. After listening this story I was quite
curious to see the british people, who ruled our country because I had never
saw them. Once I requested my uncle Surjon Singh take me with him as he was
going to meet a british officer. I saw my uncle saluting a british officer
who was quite younger than my uncle and even was not able to speak our
language in a proper way. I laughed at his gesture. My uncle stopped me. He
introduced me as his nephew. The officer for annoyed as I had not saluted
him and then he sat on his horse saying "Ham Nawan Shahr jane ko mangta
hai; tumko lot sakta hai" and he left. I and my uncle came back Home.
My uncle was angry with me as I didnt saluted the "Sahib". I
asked my uncle that I did not like that man who was not able to speak well
and was looking like an idiot. MY uncle decided that in future he would
never take me with him when he would go to meet any british officer. From
this incident I came to a conclusion that all the british officer are idiots
and I would never call them Sahibs or salute them."

"I was a small child then when along with my elder
brother I visited Anandpur Sahib to be a sikh. I remember that were given
sweet water (Amrit) and told about the principles of sikh religion. This
ceremony teaches a person that one who becomes a sikh is never afraid of
death and fight against those who do a injustice. He protects and helps the
poor, weak and also womens, old etc.. From that day when a person becomes a
sikh his mind and soul becomes pure. That's why Sikhs are called Khalsa,
Which means pure."

This region has abundant Health facilities. Here private clinics and nursing homes not only surprise with their numbers but also some of them claim to have latest medical equipments. There are adequate number of Government Hospitals, Dispensaries and Primary Health Centers in this area. The hospitals in Nawanshahr have capacity of 64 beds and are equipped with latest medical tools. Banga and Balachaur hospitals are having capacity of 30 beds each. Also Mukandpur, Sujjon, Saroya and Muzzaffarpur are provided all kinds of health services. Even for every village of the district health services are available. Vetinary hospitals are available in Nawanshahr, Rahon, Saroya and Balachaur.

Honor of establishment of Blood Donors Council goes to Professor Hajari Lal Bansal who is a well-known social activist and father of the blood donate revolution in Punjab.
Blood Donors Council is the one and only one self controllable institution for which Punjab Government has provided services of separate medical officer. This is also the single institution that has the power of a blood bank.

Administrative Setup

Sub-division

Tehsils

Nawanshahr

Nawanshahr

Balachaur

Balachaur

Banga

Banga

Municipalities

Municipalities

Nawanshahr

Rahon

Balachaur

Banga

Blocks

Blocks

Aur

Nawanshahr

Balachaur

Saroya

Banga

Location

Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar district is situated in 31.8 N and 76.7 E part of Punjab on the right bank of mighty river Sutlej. The Distance of State capital Chandigarh (Known as the most beautiful and planned city of India) from the district is of ~92 Kms. Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar District is surrounded by four districts. The west border of the district touches Jalandhar, east border touches with RoopNagar (Ropar) district, the northern border of the district meets with district Hoshiarpur and in south it touches with Ludhiana (known as the Manchester of India) and Kapurthala District.

Area and Population

The Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar district is one of the smaller districts of Punjab and is having an area of 1267 Sq. Km.'s consisting of population of 612310 as per 2011 census. The land of District Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar is fertile due to the presence of river Sutlej and irrigated through tubewells and canals except some part of the Balachaur sub-division falling in Kandi Area.

Rainfall

The average annual rainfall in the district is 70 cm. The rainfall in the district in general increases from the south-west towards the north-east. About 70 % of the annual normal rainfall in the district is received during the period July to September, July being the rainiest month. Some rainfall is received mostly as thunder showers in June and in association with passing western disturbances in the cold season. The variation in the rainfall from year to year in the district is appreciable. In the 80 year, 1901 to 1980, the highest annual rainfall amounting to 181 %of the normal occurred in 1917. The lowest annual rainfall which was 55 %of the normal occurred in the year 1905. In the same period, the annual rainfall in the district was less than 80 per cent of the normal in 22 years.

On an average, there are 36 rainy days (i.e. days with rainfall of 2.5 mm or more) in a year in the district. The heaviest rainfall in 24 hours recorded at any station in the district was 30mm.

Temperature

After February, temperature begin to rise rapidly. June is generally the hottest month with the mean daily temperature at about 41C and the mean daily minimum at about 27C. Scorching dust laden winds blow on many days in the summer season and the day temperatures on individual days may reach above 45C. Afternoon thundershowers which occur on some days during the summer bring welcome relief though only temporarily. With the onset of monsoon by about the end of June or early in July, the day temperature drop down appreciably. But the nights continue to be a warm during the summer. Due to increase moisture in the monsoon air, the weather is often sultry and uncomfortable, in between these rains. After about mid-September when the monsoon withdraws temperatures decrease, the drop in the night temperature being rapid. January is generally the coldest month with the mean daily maximum temperature at about 19Cand the mean daily minimum at about 6C.

Humidity

During the brief south-west monsoon months and for spells of a day or two in association with the passing western disturbances high humidity prevails in the district. In the rest of the year, the humidity is low. The driest part of the year is the summer season when in the afternoons the relative humidity is 30 %or less.

Cloudiness

The skies are heavily clouded and over cast on a few days during the south-west monsoon and for spells of a day or two in association with passing western disturbances during the cold season. During the rest of the year, the skies are mostly clear or lightly clouded.

Winds

Winds are generally light in the district. In the south-west monsoon season, winds from direction, between north-east and south-east, are common but on many days in the afternoons westerly to north-westerly winds predominate, except in the latter half of summer, when easterlies and south easterlies blow on some days.